No Such Thing As Squeaky Clean

The Wisconsin men's basketball program prides itself on running a clean operation. Badger fans can usually rest assured that Bo Ryan will not stoop to unsavory levels to sign certain types of superstar athletes.

But even the best slip up at times, especially when the NCAA guidelines that universities must follow are occasionally outlandish and convoluted. That is why I found Andy Baggot's report on compliance in the UW Athletic Department interesting. While Wisconsin has avoided a major infraction since the infamous Shoebox scandal, the university has committed 35 secondary violations over the last 11 months.

Both the men's basketball and football teams at Wisconsin self-reported five secondary violations in that time. As you might expect, high-profile revenue-generating sports like football and basketball traditionally are more prone to transgressions across the country because of the cutthroat recruiting battlegrounds the coaches deal with.

As the print version of the Wisconsin State Journal column detailed, four of the five violations pertaining to the men's basketball team relate to recruiting in some way. Here are the five incidents, which serve to show how difficult it is to remain completely error-free in this realm:

*Dec. '07 - Impermissible contact with prospective student-athlete [NCAA 13.02.4.4]
*Jan. '08 - Impermissible discount to student-athlete [NCAA 16.11.2]
*Jan. '08 - Impermissible benefit to prospective student-athlete [NCAA 13.2.1]
*Jan. '08 - Impermissible per diem [NCAA 16.8.1.2.3]
*Jan. '08 - Impermissible comments about a prospect by a student-athlete [NCAA 13.02.5.1-(b)]

The discounted merchandise incident was one of three violations singled out and acknowledged by the university. The impermissible contact with a recruit during an NCAA quiet period was identified as inadvertent.

Speaking of restricted "dead periods" there are two coming up this summer that coaches will have to abide by on the recruiting trail, including all of August. The on-and-off design of the summer evaluation schedule seems a little silly, but unfortunately, it's necessary. Unlike Wisconsin, many other programs would set up shop in a recruit's backyard if they could.

Coaching staffs are also prevented from seeing even their current players through much of the summer. This is when UW's strength and conditioning coach Scott Hettenbach earns his keep--part babysitter, part drill sergeant, part liaison. Now that Stiemsma has moved on, my guess is that Krabbenhoft holds down the stereo in the weight room. From what I've heard in the past, he prefers rap to hard rock or country.

Judgment Day in Bloomington?

EDIT (6:06 p.m. CT) - Andy Katz got the goods for ESPN indicating Kelvin Sampson has been bought out of his contract at Indiana. The Hoosier Scoop has the most up-to-date info and was attempting to broadcast the "press conference that never was" all afternoon.

Indiana may or may not hold a press conference at 1 p.m. CT, but it sounds like Kelvin Sampson is finished, probably through the suspension for termination route. The Hoosier Scoop is all over it.

Today and tomorrow are going to be much more distracting days for the Hoosier players than the night the allegations hit and the team played Wisconsin. For one thing, many of the players are pissed.

The Indianapolis Star has a copy of Sampson's contract on its website [pdf], which I was happy to peruse. The money spots are 6.02.B.4-6 & 10-14, which spell out reasons that could result in a just cause firing. The next sections (6.02.C & D) go on to outline how the university would go about such a course of action and what its financial responsibilities are to Sampson.

Personally, I like Section 5, where all Sampson's potential performance bonuses are spelled out. For instance, he's entitled to $20,000 for winning the Big Ten title or making the Final Four, but a whopping $40,000 for winning the Big Ten tournament!

Oops, looks like he won't be cashing in on any of those.

Boo hoo. Poor IU alum Dane Fife must be really upset now. He will probably blame the shocking upcoming loss to Northwestern on the situation, which would be more believable than the game Indiana dropped to Bucky.

I will update as soon as it is official.

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Links:
- Ian Markolf's San Antonio Churchill team lost to crosstown rival Taft in the Texas state boys basketball tournament. Markolf had a very good first half before Taft took over. Is a redshirt season under Bo next?
- Interesting story on pairs of brothers in NCAA hoops. This would have been more relevant to Badger fans last year when Carl Landry was still at Purdue, but a good read nonetheless. Landry is coming along nicely for the Houston Rockets, by the way.

A Cyber Shout Out

Over the last few days, you may have noticed the addition of a new website under the Links section along the right side. I don't know how I missed this site before, but Basketball State has really impressed me in the little I have been able to enjoy without becoming a subscriber. It's only a matter of time, truthfully.

Basketball State is an offspring of the Kyle Whelliston phenomenom and I don't mind sounding like fan of his because I am. However, the website's look, feel and content speak for itself. The front page is simple and attractive in blue and gray. Right away, you -- the NCAA basketball nutcase -- have access to information that you have to dig through a monster site like ESPN.com in order to get.

The most prominent features are:
- a trademarked up-to-the-minute ranking system that gives more weight to RPI, performance in recent games, efficiency and playing well at home
- a nightly college hoops scoreboard utilizing Google map technology
- national statistical leaders
- graphs and tempo free box scores for each team
- a revolving door of other goodies that includes anything you ever wanted to know about each NCAA Tournament to information on your most despised enemies -- the officials.

And you can get some of the content for free on your iPhone!

Peruse the site a bit if you can before being bombarded by the SIGN UP NOW! screens. Before long you might find yourself considering a membership like me, an admitted cheapskate.

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Yeah, so Wisconsin does indeed host a Big Ten contest on Saturday. Forgive me for not getting too revved up that Northwestern is coming to town. It's true that sophomore Kevin Coble, a former three-time prep Player of the Year in Arizona, returned to the team in time for the start of the conference season. However, despite Coble exploding for 34 points against Michigan, the Wildcats have lost all four of their Big Ten games by at least 10 points. It is going to be an apathetic crowd at the Kohl Center tomorrow night.

Where are they now? (Part 1)

Seeing how some of the ex-Badgers are doing overseas prompted me to finish looking into how some former Wisconsin high schoolers are faring outside of the Badger State. With few exceptions, most of these players were not really recruited by Wisconsin or Marquette, but landed safely at other Division I universities on basketball scholarships.

You will not see any players on UW-Milwaukee or UW-Green Bay listed because those rosters are usually full of names from around the state. As the two other D-I programs in the state, they are easy to keep track of for those following the Badgers.

Notice the majority of the success stories and more highly sought-after players that I describe are guards. Wisconsin clearly places an emphasis on keeping its big men at home first, little fellas second. Sometimes that comes back to bite you. The Badgers seem to have gotten the best of the big men, but wouldn't having one or two more quality guards be nice? You will find a few on this list -- a list that turned out long enough to be split into a two-part series.

So without further adieu, let's begin way back when with the ...

: : : Class of 2004

Kyle Weaver, G, Washington St. [stats]
The Cinderella story you've all heard about, on a Cinderella team. Weaver is having another solid year and undefeated Washington State is perched in the Top 5. Nice way to close out a career, huh? His shooting percentages are up so far this season, especially from 3-point land. This was Dick Bennett's last (only?) recruiting gem; Tony has turned Weaver into a star. How good would this formerly wiry Beloit Memorial grad have looked next to Tucker and Taylor on the wing last year?

Draelon Burns, G, DePaul [stats]
"Dre" Burns was named Big East Player of the Week after back-to-back 32-point games before stumbling against Kansas last weekend. This senior guard started the year slow, but seems to be back on track to exceed his very good sophomore and junior numbers at DePaul. Burns put up big numbers at Milwaukee Custer, although he spent his last HS season at the Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina.

Mike Nelson, G, North Dakota St. [stats]
Another feel-good story, this time from the Badgers' own backyard. Nelson played his prep hoops for Steve Collins at Madison Memorial and was Wisconsin's Mr. Basketball in 2004 despite being overshadowed at times by a few of his highly-touted teammates. Nelson averages about 15 ppg in a high-scoring offense, but has also nearly doubled his per-game rebounding totals of a year ago. While the Bison are hovering around .500 this season, this redshirt junior will always have bragging rights thanks to N.D. State's January 2006 upset of Wisconsin at the Kohl Center. Nelson's head coach is former Wisconsin assistant Saul Phillips.

Dave Bliss, C, Georgia [stats]
Wisconsin saw him first-hand earlier this year and he was largely a non-factor. However, Bliss has started nearly every game for the Bulldogs in his four years there, the only exception being the first month or so last year. He was even the valedictorian of his senior class at Wausau West in 2004. What a swell guy. By the way, Georgia's only loss so far was to Bucky.

Jermyl Jackson-Wilson, F, Colorado [stats]
This guy has really bounced around. He came to fame as a smooth, shot-blocking big man for the Milwaukee King powerhouse. He spent a post-graduate year at Fork Union Military Academy in New Mexico. Jackson-Wilson then signed with Ohio State in 2004 and played in a handful of games there as a freshman. He sat out last year upon transferring, but was a bright spot for Colorado on the floor. Now, as a redshirt junior, Jackson-Wilson is struggling to find his offense, but did post a 13-rebound game in the America's Youth Classic tourney hosted by Wisconsin earlier this year. He will continue to block shots, regardless.

Shae McNamara, F, Marist [stats]
Now a senior, McNamara's playing time has been amazingly consistent for three years before seeing a modest uptick in 2007. He's stands a lanky 6'8" tall and was actually a McDonald's All-American nominee during his senior season at Milwaukee Marquette University HS. Though he'll never put up significant numbers, he seems to be a well-rounded, integral part of Marist's program.

Tom Levin, F, Loyola [stats]
Levin started the Oshkosh West pipeline to the Windy City and now enters his final season at Loyola. He was a part-time starter in his first two seasons, but has battled injuries over the last couple of years, grinding his minutes to a near-halt.

: : : Class of 2005

J.R. Blount, G, Loyola [stats]
Walter "J.R." Blount put up historically good numbers for a freshman and sophomore and is continuing that trend this season. Blount it easily pacing the team in scoring with almost 18 points and 2 steals per game. The junior point guard also leads the Ramblers in assists.

In high school, Blount propelled Whitefish Bay Dominican's undefeated romp to the state championship in Division III for what might have been the state's best team overall that year regardless of division. Obviously, Wisconsin-made products will be leaving their mark all over the Loyola record book.

Jacob Baryenbruch, G, Drake [stats]
I don't know much about Baryenbruch except that he is a 6-foot junior from River Valley HS near Spring Green. He is starting to see more playing time in a very good conference (Missouri Valley) but is not producing as of yet.

David DuBois, G, Western Illinois [stats]
Speaking of bouncing around, you are not alone if you lost track of former Madison LaFollette athlete David DuBois. He began his career in the WAC in 2005-06 by leading the Idaho Vandals in rebounding. Not bad for a freshman. Perhaps seeing his opportunity to move upward and onward, he played his sophomore season for the famed Indian Hills Community College before landing at Western Illinois this year.

While the Summit Conference is a step down from the WAC, at least DuBois is close to home. Many of his high school comrades have joined together to make Winona State a D-II powerhouse up north. DuBois is quietly leading the Leathernecks in minutes and rebounding this year and should be very proud of what he's accomplished in 2+ years.

John Rybak, F, Texas State [stats]
Transferred from Akron after two non-productive years and will sit out the 2007-08 season to regain his eligibility. At 6'5", Rybak was a pretty good producer out of West Allis Hale in Milwaukee. He'll be a decent shooter on the wing Texas State if he can get on the floor.

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Look for the 2006 and 2007 classes in part two. And in between, I will be attending my first live Badger game of the season, versus UW-Green Bay.

Midevening Madness

Wisconsin's first public appearance of the season comes this Friday at "Night of the Grateful Red" which is UW's version of the now-diluted Midnight Madness concept. The sneak peak at a Badger practice starts at 7 p.m. and will feature a slam dunk and three-point shooting contest.

Former Maryland coach Lefty Driesell gets credit for starting the madness back in 1971 when he tried to get a leg up on the competition with the earliest possible practice. Hundreds of fans found out and showed up despite the late hour. A year later when the practice turned into a scrimmage, thousands of rabid basketball fans attended and a phenomenon was born.

Basketball hotbeds like Kentucky can sell thousands of tickets to Big Blue Madness and actually make money off of the first practice of the year. Thankfully for hoop heads, Wisconsin is still a football school and lets fans in for free. Ever since 2005, when the NCAA allowed schools to move the practice up to about 7 p.m., you would be hard-pressed to find a campus without such an event, each branded with its own variation of the "Madness" name.

Now, if I were a betting man -- and I am -- I'd say that either Marcus Landry or Trevon Hughes would win a Badger dunk contest. Hughes has the "wow"-factor advantage because of his small stature, while Landry is simply the most athletic player. But it's much more fun to just declare that Morris "Sugar" Cain will take home the honors.

As for the long-distance shootout, another pair of front runners jump to mind: Brian Butch and Jason Bohannon. I recall Butch taking home some sharp-shooting hardware at the McDonald's All-American festivities, but J-Bo is the clear favorite. Frankly, if Bohannon doesn't win this contest, I will be worried. For all the hype and hope Badger fans have heaped on the sophomore's shooting prowess, it ought to be in the bag. Considering the scoring void left by Tucker and Taylor, Wisconsin needs J-Bo to be a confident, dagger-tossing killer behind the arc. Every waking minute.

If you're more in the mood for an intra-squad scrimmage, the Badgers have one of those too, on Sunday, Oct. 21. I hope to personally take in a bit of each event and then report back on what haircut Greg Stiemsma will be sporting this year, which freshman needs to redshirt, and whether or not Joe Krabbenhoft is still frightened by open 16-footers.

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The Bucks beat the Bulls in LaCrosse in their exhibition opener last night. Now that the international Yi incident has been put to bed, the Chairman should concentrate on staying on the floor with better defense. Yi fouled out in 15 minutes of play. [See video here]

Don't worry Yi, you're not the only one.